(2) 1 have received a memorial from H-Ro-t'ang.a, Tartar General and of Fengtien (Lower Manchuria), ask ards to be bestowed upon x number of military officers who had recently crushed formidable band of mounted robbers in that province. It appeared that one Li Ching was the louder of a very numerous Land of mounted robbers who had made their lair inside the Chi whence they regular) on the surrounding: es in the plain, and on passing trading caravans. So great sas this nuisance and the trouble caused by these mounted banditti that the memorialist determined to send a strong force of troops to crush the band once for all. After considerable fighting the robber chief Li Ching was at last driven to a place where there snotutlet of escape, and so surrendered imsclf, promising to reform and enlist himself and his men in the Government service. This was because he had found escape impossible and so thought to get out of his scrape by pretending to render. This was made apparent in ey ence at the enquiry concerning this chief hold before the memorialist and so he cotamanded Li Ching to be summarily decay pirated together with the rest of his captured gang of banditti, thus securing the extinction of the whole band of desperadocs. As I am of opinion that the memorialist and his military of*cers have shown commendable promptitude in performing their duty in this connection I hereby command that the officers named in this memorial be handed to the Board of War for adequate rewards, and further bestow the following extra reward upon the Manchu Colonel Té-k'G-teng-nieh, namely, the Facfwling-a grade of the an Batura (badge of valour), in recognition of conspicuous bravery. As for Chou Ting-shan, a Major, and Ma Hung-wen, a Captain, who proved themselves incapable of executing it several duties, I hereby command that they be cashiered as a warning to others.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.